Broken Wind
by rulerofwind
Summary: A different life leads to different changes. She only knew the passion of battle, the joy of watching her enemies suffer, the beautiful sight she was rewarded with as they bled to death. What happens when she is sent to Konoha to participate in the chuunin exams and runs into Naruto, her complete opposite? OOC, pretty overpowered Temari. Rated M for safety and future lemon.
1. Chapter 1

Hey everyone! So I was thinking earlier, 'What would it be like if Temari was trained by ANBU during her childhood? How would it affect her?' so, this is the result. I may continue this, if enough people like it.

Disclaimer: I own nothing of this. If I did... nevermind. Enjoy the story.

Warning: completely OOC Temari

* * *

She remembered when he first slapped her.

Deep inside the heart of Suna, the only sounds one could hear were the sound of metal against metal, skin against skin, and the frustrated yells of a five year old girl. These sounds could be heard throughout the entirety of the village if one listened hard enough, but everyone knew they resonated from the Subaku compound. It had been the same thing for the last two years. The girl stood across from a man, the only man in the village allowed to don the robes of the kazekage, the man whose power held no bounds in the Country of Wind, the man whose blood coursed through her veins. The girl held a longsword in a reverse grip, defending her small body. Her breathing was ragged from the beating she'd sustained, and her sandy blonde hair was matted to her head with sweat, but she didn't dare let her tiredness show, lest she incur the wrath of the man.

"Again." was his single order, and she lunged for what seemed the thousandth time. Before she reached him she reversed her grip on her sword and swung at him horizontally, hoping to deliver a nice gash in his stomach. But he simply stepped back enough that her sword was out of reach. She rushed at him head on, holding her sword above her head. She swung down with so much force, she could have sliced through his smug skull. But he again moved out of her way, the sword assaulting the innocent sand.

"What was that?" the man snarled.

"I'm trying father, I just... Could you not be so serious?"

"You're just not trying hard enough! Do you honestly think the enemy will be as merciful as I have been to you? Until I train that monster to be of use in ten years, you are going to be Suna's primary weapon. Is that clear?" the girl looked down, forcing the tears away. They were a weakness. But her building sadness and disappointment constricted her voice like a snake, and she was unable to respond to him. It was when her head violently snapped to the side and pain registered in her cheek, that she again looked up at the man before her. His face was scrunched up in pure fury, and he held his reddening hand up, ready to strike again. He had slapped her? Sure, he had done many horrible things. Punched her, kicked her, slammed her into furniture, threw her into walls, sliced her delicate skin, you name it. But she had never been slapped, and the new pain brought fresh, unexpected tears to her eyes.

"Are you seriously crying Temari? I have been training you for the past two years, yet you have made little progress. You have been a complete disappointment to me, a disgrace to the family name."

"Father, I am only five!" Temari shouted, holding up five little fingers. "I am not learning because you go too quickly, and I can barely keep up. And when you beat me, I can barely remain conscious!"

"I do not care. Not about you, not about your accursed brothers. My only concern is for Suna. And I will not let her down."

"I don't want to do this anymore. I won't do it." Temari said the only way a stubborn five year old could. The Kazekage sighed, irritation making it almost exaggerated. He snapped and a man appeared from nowhere, his back to Temari, and awaited his orders.

"Hawk, see that girl? I want you to take her and refine her into the greatest non-jinchuuriki weapon Suna has ever seen. Failure will not be tolerated. I will give you 10 years to turn her into what I want, what we need. Go."

Hawk turned, and froze in his place. He couldn't believe it. He was supposed to turn Temari, his five year old heir, into a killing machine?

"My Lord, with all due respect. She is only a child."

"Does it look like I care? If you cannot do this Hawk, I will easily find a replacement for the commander of my ANBU. I do suggest you get started, time is ticking." and the Kazekage disappeared. Hawk sighed and turned back to Temari.

_'This is not going to be good.'_

* * *

She remembered her first kill.

Five years later, it was near midnight in Suna, and the village was covered in a blanket of darkness. Families peacefully slept in their homes, but those few who worked through the night were at least accompanied by blissful silence. A shadowed figure slipped into the village and dashed, no doubt, to the Kazekage's tower, where a multitude of scrolls containing secret information and jutsu was stored. He was met with no resistance and thanked his luck while mocking the sorry security. It took him mere seconds to find the building, the only one that loomed over all the others, and made a quick entrance. He made his way down the halls, disarming and avoiding the countless traps he faced. Room after room was thoroughly checked until he came to a room with two large, wooden doors. A smirk spread across his face as he pushed the doors open, revealing the largest collection of scrolls he'd ever seen. Shelves of scrolls lined every wall, some even stacked against walls for lack of space. The number had to be at least in the hundreds, perhaps even the thousands. No matter, he would get as many scrolls as possible. He removed a burlap sack from his hip and began stuffing the scrolls into them. He was so consumed in his victory that he didn't notice the form standing in the entrance. The light switched on and he jumped up, unsheathing a sword. Now that the light was on, his features were made clear. He had dark brown hair, tied up into a short ponytail. His eyes were green, holding a mix of malicious joy and surprise. More of the latter, however, was present at this point. He wore standard chuunin wear, including the vest, so he was obviously skilled, but not as skilled as the other presence. The only other thing about him was the headband he wore, identifying him as a shinobi of Iwa. The man, on the other hand, was beyond shocked. When his eyes adjusted to the harsh light, the only two things he noted about her were that she was a girl, and a kid.

"Kid, isn't it past your bedtime?" he smirked. Temari said nothing and pulled out her twin longswords.

"You have trespassed in my village, and in this room. As the second-in-command of Suna's ANBU, I sentence you to an immediate execution, ninja of Iwa." Temari declared. The man's face registered shock. Second? The shock gave Temari an opening, and she took it. She ran forward at an incredible speed, putting her swords in an "X" shape and slashing out. The man jumped back, narrowly missing her attack. He realized she had vanished and barely had enough time to turn his head as a small foot connected with his jaw, fracturing it and sending him into the far wall. Temari gave him no chance to recover, sheathing her swords and pounding him with her full might. Blood poured from his broken nose and his groans of pain increased in volume. She pulled her fist back again and prepared to launch it forward when she felt cold blade pierce her skin. The clone hardened and crumbled under her as the new gash in her back sprayed blood. She grunted in pain and stood up, facing her opponent. He expected to find some fear in her face, some part of her body shaking; she was only a little girl! But he found none of those things. He instead found a bit of anger, concealed by contentment, or even excitement. Just what was she? She wove a few handsigns before thrusting her palm toward him. Numerous wind blades attacked the man, cutting through his clothing and drawing blood. The red liquid trickled down his body, much like water down a dam that was ready to burst, and Temari felt she needed to wrap this up. She gripped her swords and rushed toward the man as he tried to escape her, the scrolls forgotten in his haste.

"First mistake: infiltrating this village." she said as she sliced him across his back, giving him a gash identical to hers. "Second: coming into this room." and she fed her chakra into both swords, swiftly crouching and swinging the blades so that the man's legs were divided into three pieces: the upper leg, the lower leg and foot, and the knee. "Third: Meeting me." Temari walked behind the fallen man, who lay on his side, facing away from her. She stabbed her sword into the ground, right in front of his neck. The man had hope. For a split second he thought he would be spared, but the pressure from the child's foot told him otherwise. She pushed at the back of his neck, and he drew closer to the sword. The blade was now on his neck and he could only scream as blood began to run down the sword, pooling on the ground beneath them. Temari pushed harder and blood flowed faster as the sword sunk deeper into the flesh. It wasn't until the sword hit where the jugulars should be that she suddenly kicked the neck with far too much force, decapitating the man and showering herself with his blood.

"Weakling." she spat, turning on her heels and walking out. Whoever found the man next would have to clean it up. She was not doing it. As her adrenaline rush died down, images of the man's body filled her head. She barely made it outside the tower before she emptied the contents of her stomach onto the street. She was grateful for the darkness. When she was reduced to merely dry heaving, she began to take slow, steady breaths to calm her body.

"How pathetic am I? Getting sick over an enemy! It was my first kill, nowhere near my last. This, must never happen again." she growled, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

The next day, Temari silently stood in front of Hawk as he read over the report.

"Did you kill him Temari?"

"Yes."

"Were you able to gather anything not in this file?"

"No. But if I may Hawk-sama..."

"Continue."

"I suggest you alert the Kazekage, tell him to increase security at night. How could he be so foolish as to not have already taken these precautions? If I wasn't on patrol, he may have escaped with those scrolls. Do I have any more assignments?"

"Not as of now. Go relax."

"Relax...? That concept seems so foreign to me now. If you need me, I'll be training." and Temari left. Hawk sat back in his chair and released a heavy sigh.

* * *

She remembered first receiving her weasel-shaped mask and summoning contract.

Temari and Hawk stood in front of the Kazekage, waiting for him to speak.

"Hawk, in light of recent events, namely the encounter with the Iwa shinobi, I think it's time for Temari to don her own mask, what do you think?"

"I agree sir. She will soon be sent on missions, and she will not be able to carry them out as an ANBU without one."

"Very well. Temari, what kind of mask would you like?" the kazekage asked, gazing at his daughter. He was content. He nearly had Gaara trained in the usage of his power, and Temari was practically an angel of death. The perfect assassin. Temari silently turned to Hawk, and whispered something in his ear.

"That may not be a problem. My Lord, Temari requests the mask of the weasel. She also, would like it if she could be a wielder of the weasel contract." Hawk said. The girl's father sat in thought for a few long seconds before he sighed. He cleared his throat and a small woman entered the room. She had shoulder length brown hair and wore normal civilian clothing.

"You need something kazekage-sama?"

"Yes. Go and get me the weasel summoning contract, and tell Kiko to get to work on a weasel shaped mask for Temari."

"Of course, my Lord." and the girl made a quick exit.

A few minutes passed in silence before the girl re-entered the room, holding a large scroll. She set it down on the desk and left after bowing. The Kazekage stood and unraveled the scroll, revealing many symbols, as well as the names of past contract holders.

"Temari, bite your thumb and sign here." Temari did as her father said, biting down until blood freely flowed, and quickly signed her name.

"Now, the weasel is a bit different. It doesn't require handsigns to summon it. Only that you combine your blood and wind chakra in some sort of way."

"What if she swipes her blood down her blade and channels her chakra into it?"

"I don't know. Perhaps one of the weasels will know." the kazekage said. But he didn't have much time to think because Temari took her bloody thumb and swiped it down her blade. She lightly swung it, as to not destroy anything in the office, while channeling her chakra into it. A cloud of smoke later, and a weasel stood atop her blade.

"Great, a new summoner. Oh and a female as well." the weasel said sarcastically. "I am the leader of the weasels, Kamatari. Now, what makes you think you can handle us? And I hope you don't sprout some crap like 'we can get along', 'cause it won't work."

"I'm not one to underestimate anyone. I know your strengths, that's why I asked to sign your contract. Your techniques compliment mine, and I don't plan on letting you go. As long as you listen to me, we'll get along just fine. I have no need for petty friendships either."

"Oh? And why would we listen to the likes of you?" Kamatari asked, genuinely amused. Temari said nothing. She simply let killing intent roll off her body in waves, suffocating the room. Kamatari froze at the feeling and found he couldn't move. He just knew he was going to feel great pain. But it didn't come, and it was several seconds before he realized the killing intent was gone. Kamatari opened his eyes and looked into the dull emerald ones of the girl.

"Now, have I proved myself?"

"Heh. You are certainly powerful. I like your guts kid. I'll stick around. But the moment you fail us, we're gone."

"You don't have to worry. Failure is not an option for me." Temari said. Kamatari smirked before vanishing in a puff of smoke.

Two days later found Temari and Hawk in the kazekage's office again. A mask shaped like the face of a weasel lay on the desk, and Hawk retrieved it. Kamatari lay across Temari's shoulders, napping. Temari had trained almost endlessly those past two days, creating combination attacks with the weasel. As a result, the two had grown closer.

"Is it to your liking?" the kazekage asked as Temari looked at it.

"As long as it fits and obscures my face from the enemy, it will do." Hawk placed the mask over her face, adjusting the strap at the back of it.

"Now that you have a mask, you will no longer be known as Temari when wearing it. You will be known as Weasel. Understood?"

"My name matters not. As long as I can carry out my missions." Weasel said, turning to leave.

* * *

She remembered her first time seeing a comrade die, and feeling nothing.

It was on a mission, although looking back, one could call it a mini war. The newly appointed ANBU commander, Weasel, led a force of about two dozen of Suna's ANBU to push back some suspicious Iwa troops who'd been inching closer to their land, and they were met with about the same force. Weasel had taken on the Iwa ANBU captain by herself. His mask was in the shape of a black cat's face, his oddly yellow eyes seen through the slits. Weasel quickly deduced that he was Panther, a man renowned for his skill throughout all ANBU organizations. He needed to be dealt with, swiftly. His attacks mainly focused on slow, yet powerful earth techniques. So as he rushed her, her swift wind style techniques and small body diminished any hope he had of defeating her. She jumped over his sword as he attempted to cleave her head off and kicked him in the face. It didn't move him back as much as she would've liked, but the damage was still dealt. He wove a few handsigns together and grabbed the ground in front of him. He threw a large chunk of Earth up in front of him and punched it with a chakra imbued fist, sending jagged rock fragments at the girl. She threw her swords down, stepping on each as she used her wind chakra to lift herself in the air, her normal chakra to keep her feet planted on the blades. The rocks harmlessly passed by underneath, and Weasel decided it was her turn. Bending down, she grabbed the swords and began her descent toward the ground, spinning as she did. She channeled chakra into the swords and her speed increased. She hit the ground with the force of a meteor, the shockwave having sent her opponent flying back. She chased him, gaining altitude before coming down on his chest with an axe kick. The wind was knocked out of him as a result, and again when his back hit the unforgiving soil. He staggered up and wove more handsigns.

"Earth style: earth prison!" he yelled. Weasel found herself trapped in a dome of rocks and soil, and immediately began to analyze it. It had one purpose: to drain chakra. She tried to attack it, but any damage she did was immediately repaired. She could not allow herself to remain here any longer she decided, pulling out a sword. She bit her thumb and swiped it down the tempered steel, channeling her chakra into it before swinging it.

"Hey boss." Kamatari greeted, sitting in front of Temari.

"Kamatari, get me out of here." was the single command. Kamatari nodded and a small scythe appeared from nowhere.

"Brace yourself." and Kamatari attacked. He fired endless wind blades at a single point in the dome, so as it began to repair itself, it was sliced open again. Kamatari didn't let up for even one second, so it was so surprise when a hole big enough was created. "Hurry up! I can't hold this forever!" and Weasel took the chance, leaping through the hole just before it closed up again. She found her target and gripped both swords. His shock at her escape gave her all the time she needed.

"Wind style: cyclone scythe jutsu!" she cried, swinging both swords. The vortex of wind enveloped the other ANBU, shredding him as he floated, unable to defend himself as he had no access to the Earth. She released the technique, kicking him in the back as he came back down and relishing in the brutal snapping sound of his vertebrate. To make sure he was dead, she threw a kunai at the fallen form and walked closer as it was made clear it was the real thing. As she inspected the body for anything of use, she heard the sound of blade piercing skin. But what made this different from the rest was the yell that followed it. She turned to see her second-in-command, a man named Takamaru, when not wearing his wolf mask, fall. She quickly stepped in, blocking the enemy's blade with her own before stabbing him in the chest with her other and feeding her chakra into it, shredding his body apart from the inside. The body slumped on her sword and she merely kicked it away before turning to her fallen comrade.

"W-Weasel-sama... I failed you... I... I..." he gasped, before his body stilled, the life drained out of him. Weasel stood, surveying the body before one word came to her mind. The only word that would come.

"Weakling." the other ANBU witnessed both gruesome events and immediately retreated, leaving the Suna shinobi. They were all silent as Weasel walked away, and they followed their leader.

"You... may bring his body if you wish." she said, having noticed the mood, and four men turned back and retrieved the limp, lifeless man. When they returned, the mood was still somewhat somber amongst the others, but it had lightened somewhat. Weasel felt nothing for the man, but absolutely had to make sure her remaining men kept a strong faith in her. For some reason, death of a comrade shook them, crumpled their morale. So something had to save it. She didn't understand, but she did it.

* * *

However,  
She remembered no happiness.  
No carefree lifestyle.  
No friends.  
Nothing that evoked a positive emotion in her.  
No feeling a positive emotion.  
Only hatred.  
Only the distant satisfaction of watching her enemies suffer.  
Only the desire to bring more and more to crimson stained deaths.

* * *

So... What did you think?


	2. Enter the Leaf Ninja!

Yay! I'm so happy you all like it so far, and I'd like to thank those of you who reviewed. They made me smile. Ideas are welcome, so if there's something you want to see, don't hesitate to suggest it. Just message me :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did, Temari would be much more badass.

Oh, and a quick note:

Regular conversation = "Hi"

Thoughts = _'Hi'_

Conversation with tailed beast = _**"Hi"**_

* * *

Chapter 2: Enter the Leaf Ninja

"-mari... Temari... Temari!" a voice shouted from beside her. Temari's emerald eyes flew open, immediately on guard and scanning the room for intruders. Her vision was still hazy, so when it fell on the black clad person beside her, she lunged. She grabbed his throat and tackled him to the ground, snarling as she did so. She was about ready to rip his throat out, when sand enveloped her and pulled her off. Gaara dropped her a few feet away and made his way to whoever it was. Blinking furiously, Temari focused and saw who she was attacking...

"Kankuro? I could've killed you. Why would you do something so stupid?" Temari asked, watching as her brother sat up. He coughed and rubbed his neck.

"Sorry Tem. Jeez, you were practically born training, weren't you?" Kankuro teased, but he noticed how her already dull eyes grew even duller. He knew she'd been through something rough. She just up and disappeared from the face of the Earth when she was five. He was just four, and their... father (just knowing he was related to that man was enough to make him nauseous) wouldn't tell him where she had gone, even after all of his asking. The question would be brushed off completely, or he'd get smacked. Needless to say, he was ecstatic when she came back a year ago. 10 years of not seeing your sister tended to do that. He wanted to ask so many questions. Why was she so guarded, why did she refuse to eat food not prepared by her own hands, why were her eyes so much darker than he remembered them to be, why would she get away from them every chance she had? Thankfully, the exams required they stay together, so she wouldn't be able to run forever. But he was afraid. Afraid of saying the wrong thing and chasing her away or having her accidentally kill him.

Temari on the other hand, was berating herself for her brash actions. She would've killed Kankuro, had Gaara not saved him, and her mission would be good as done. Just why was the brat trying to get close to her? Perhaps the kazekage gave him a mission to spy on her. It couldn't be for personal reasons. They hadn't seen each other in 10 years and they hardly knew each other, so there was no other fathomable reason, in her mind, that Kankuro would be trying so hard.

"No, I was not born training. That very idea is ridiculous. A newborn cannot stand on its own, so training would be impossible. And they cannot hold heavy things, so kunai-."

"I was just trying to wake you up! You slept in." Kankuro cut in, still breathing deeply but wanting his sister to shut up. Temari shrugged and walked toward the bathroom.

"I'll get ready. Both of you better be ready by the time I'm out." she warned, disappearing from their sights.

"It's like she's the Shukaku's host sometimes." Kankuro sighed, standing up. Gaara flinched. Being a key part of this mission and having worked with her before, Gaara was allowed to know who his sister really was. And it annoyed him, not being able to tell Kankuro and having to suffer through his ignorance and quick conclusions.

"Never say something so stupid again. I am obviously the container for Shukaku. Regarding Temari, you're lucky I was there, or you'd be dead. Get ready before I kill you myself." Gaara said, walking away. Kankuro rubbed the back of his head before sighing. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

"Jeez... How'd I get stuck with two psycho siblings?"

An hour later, the siblings stood in front of their jonin sensei, Baki, waiting for their orders. Temari and Gaara stood completely still, listening to every word the man said. It was in their "programming" to do so. Kankuro was listening as well, but he kept getting distracted by small things like kids yelling outside and the sight of several birds not native to Suna.

"Your assignment for today is to simply prepare for the exams. Temari, I imagine you are fully prepared." to which, Baki received a curt nod. "You as well Gaara." another nod. "Well then, Temari come with me. Gaara, oversee Kankuro's training until I return." and the two older shinobi disappeared.

Baki led Temari to a high rooftop, where the chances of someone overhearing them were slim.  
"I heard what happened this morning. You must exert greater control Temari. Do not forget your miss-"

"And you are a man begging for death if you think for a second that I forgot my mission, as miniscule as it is. The fool approached me in a way I am not used to, and it is my instinct to attack." Temari snarled. Baki swallowed and cleared his throat before starting again.

"Well that means your training was successful. But you need to be able to discern ally from foe. If you do happen to catch an ally, you must be able to immediately release them."

"Do not pester me Baki. This... mission is a waste of Suna's resources. While I'm away, who knows what will happen to the ANBU?"

"I'm sure the men can get by without their commander for awhile. Mizuko's doing just fine Temari. He is a capable second-in-command."

"You'd better hope so."

"I know so. Try to lighten up. You're Temari here, not Weas-"

"Shut up you imbecile! Don't just spout information I already know like that! If someone were listening, this would be for nothing! You're acting like you were never our commander. Careless mistakes like that, it's no wonder you were ordered to step down to take charge of this team."

"I have my orders. I suggest that you remember your own."

"Understood." Temari said, closing the conversation. Baki left in a cloud of smoke, leaving Temari to her thoughts.

* * *

_"Weasel, remove your mask." the kazekage commanded. She did so, and held the porcelain at her side._

_"I have a mission for you Temari, one unlike the others you've taken."_

_"If it's for Suna, I have no choice."_

_"You will be going undercover in a team consisting of your two brothers, Kankuro and Gaara, and yourself, to participate in the chuunin exams in Konoha. As you know Hawk, or should I say Baki, has stepped down, and he will be posing as your team's jonin level sensei. You will do your very best, and make it to the third stage, and then you are to help Otogakure in its destruction of the leaf. You and Gaara will be Suna's keys to winning this battle, should you choose to accept it."_

_"I accept."_

_"Very well. Now, you already know Gaara, so here are Kankuro's files. And you should know something else. Kankuro has no idea of where you've been or what your rank is. He thinks you've merely been missing for the last ten years. So try to act with a shred of normality around him. That is an order."_

_"Yes sir." Temari picked the files up and vanished in a cloud of smoke. The Kazekage sat back and sighed. She was obviously pissed with the mission, but her sense of duty wouldn't allow her to refuse. He'd just have to hope he would still have both sons when it was over._

_"Temari!" was the sound Temari heard before a dark figure smashed into her. The person was hooded, and wore purple war paint in a simple pattern on his face. Reacting as only she knew, she grabbed him by the back of his hoodie and smashed him into the ground at her feet. She pounced on him and held him there, deciding what to do. All she'd done was walk into her old home, and this happened. Thinking about the fact she was caught off guard angered her even further, and she prepared to crush his throat. But sand grabbed her and pulled her off, suspending her in mid air. She growled and pushed her wind chakra through her tenketsu and the sand fell, letting her fall back down with a soft landing. Temari turned to glare at the one who'd dared to interrupt her._

_"Temari, I suggest you calm down. I'm sure that your mission said nothing about killing our brother." Gaara calmly warned, but he did not look her in the eyes. Temari said nothing and walked into the house, leaving Gaara to deal with the unconscious Kankuro._

* * *

"You've been through a lot, haven't you?" she heard from behind her. She didn't move, she'd already felt the boy's presence.

"I don't think that matters to you Kankuro." she said.

"Like hell it doesn't! You're my sister, like it or not. My sister that I haven't seen in ten years! I was only 4, but I remember your smile, your laughter, your kindness. What the hell did they do to you?" Kankuro nearly growled.

"Like I said, it's none of your business Kankuro. All you need to know is that I am perfectly capable of completing this... exam, if you're worried about any weaknesses I may have."

"Take a walk with me." Kankuro said. Temari actually turned to him at the request.

"Why?"

"Just come on." he pleaded. Remembering what the kazekage said, Temari followed him silently. They left the building and just walked down some of the side roads of the village, exploring. Temari was, of course, studying the structures of the buildings, deciding where to attack when the time came.

"Isn't this nice?"

"This walk has been... beneficial."

"Don't make me beat that tension out of you." Kankuro joked. Temari suppressed the urge to attack him. Had it been anyone else, anyone besides her "brother", their skull would've been sliced open. "Kidding, just kidding." Kankuro quickly said, noticing the look on his sister's face. The two didn't get much farther before a kid bumped into Kankuro and fell down. A group of four was not too far behind them.

"Hey kid. Watch where you're going." Kankuro sneered, angry at having his conversation interrupted.

"Hmph. You should've seen me!" the kid sneered right back. Kankuro growled and picked the kid up by the front of his shirt.

"Konohamaru!" a girl in the group cried out.

"That idiot. Do something Naruto." the other girl said. Temari noted that she looked about Gaara's age, and couldn't help but wonder if she would be participating in the exams as well. The idea was quickly destroyed. There was no way a girl so... weak looking, would be taking them. Even if she did, she'd probably die. She had long, bubblegum pink hair and a pink kimono that fell a couple of inches past her knees. There were slits up the side, giving her easy access to her weapon pouch. She was just too... girly.

"O-okay." The kid, Naruto apparently, said. He had quite the peculiar look, Temari noted. He had short, spiky blonde hair and blue eyes. Common enough. But what wasn't common were the whisker-like marks on each cheek and the fact that he wore an orange jumpsuit. Was he a genin as well?

"You got a lot of nerve kid. I have half a mind to show you what happens when you mess with the ninja of the hidden sand village. Besides, I hate kids." he growled, pulling back a fist. He was about to launch it, when something struck his wrist. Temari knew someone was there, but she looked up at the raven haired boy sitting in the tree above them. He threw a rock up and down in his hand, before crushing it into dust.

'He thinks that is impressive? I was doing that before I became an ANBU.'

"What are you foreign ninja doing in this village?" the new arrival demanded. Temari could see Kankuro attach his chakra strings to the bundle on his back, ready to show them his puppetry. But sand enclosed his hands and any thoughts of that stopped. Both siblings looked up to see Gaara standing upside down on a branch.

"Kankuro, stop. This is a waste of time. Why use so much power on these pathetic weaklings? Learn to control your temper, or I'll kill you." Gaara warned. Kankuro tensed, but lowered his arms and relaxed his stance. Gaara disappeared and reappeared next to Temari.

"Let's go." The siblings turned to leave, but the boy's voice stopped them.

"Who are you? The redhead and the blonde. I can feel some powerful chakra from you both. And why are you here?" The trio stopped walking and turned back around to face him.

"It's common to give one's name before asking for a name." Gaara stated.

"Sasuke Uchiha. Now out with it."

"Gaara of the desert. And we are here to participate in the chuunin selection exams taking place next week." Gaara said.

"Chuunin exams?" Sakura asked.

"Wow, the exams are here, and they're genin, yet they know nothing of it. Pathetic. To dumb it down for you kids, it's the exams that genin must take to be promoted to chuunin." Kankuro said.

"Yeah, yeah. Your friend there still hasn't answered my question." Sasuke said (he couldn't care less about the exams at the moment). He turned to Temari, waiting for her answer.

"Why would you need to know my name? Although our villages are allies, I don't see a reason to get on a familial basis with any of the individuals. Do you perhaps think you can lure me into a false sense of security so that you can betray me? Or perhaps you want to get closer so I'll have mercy on you, should we meet in battle. Those are poor tactics that will never succeed. All you need to know is that you all should pray, to whatever deity you believe in, that you do not cross our paths in these exams. I will not hesitate to kill any one of you." Temari said, walking away. Kankuro sighed.

"Jeez, she's friendly as always." and the two brothers followed after her.

"What's up with them? What's up with her?" Sakura asked.

"She may be the most terrifying girl I've ever seen." Konohamaru breathed.

"All of you, believe every word you just heard. This girl is dangerous, her and her team. I have no doubt she'd follow through on her threat." Sasuke said, immediately leaving. When he was far away from the others he stopped and looked up into a tree.

"Kakashi, I know you're there." Sasuke growled. There was a puff of smoke and the mask wearing jonin stood in front of him. "Were you watching that?"

"If you mean watching that girl threaten all of your lives, then yes."

"You should know something then. Tell me about that girl, and about these chuunin exams."

"The chuunin exams, are exactly what they said. I cannot disclose any more information, it's supposed to be a surprise. But that girl's name is Subaku no Temari. She is the eldest child of the fourth and current kazekage. She and her younger brothers, Gaara and Kankuro, are here for the exams."

"Are all elite Suna ninja like her?"

"Well, no. But she is the oldest child of the kazekage, and she's a female, so I have no doubt that she was trained harder than most of her peers. She doesn't have much social interaction experience, seeing as she looked ready to kill you all at any moment. Try to avoid her, if possible. Don't need one of my students ending up dead." Kakashi said, disappearing with a cloud of smoke.

"Sasuke!" Sasuke turned around to see Naruto running toward him, and tried to get away. Whatever the blonde idiot wanted would most likely be a waste of time. But unfortunately for Sasuke, Naruto was a bit faster and blocked his path.

"What do you want dobe?"

"I saw you talking to Kakashi-sensei. And I know what you must've talked about. Tell me, who was that girl?"

"Why do you care?"

"I want to know who my enemies are too ya know." Naruto huffed. Sasuke sighed.

"Her name is Temari and she's the kazekage's oldest child. Those other two were her younger brothers, Kankuro and Gaara. Happy?"

"She seemed so on edge, ready to kill. Nah, more like holding back from killing. But her eyes, they're like..."

_'Like mine were.'_

"Like what?"

"N-nothing. Lost my train of thought. Oh well." Naruto laughed.

"Whatever. If that's all, I have better things I could be doing." Sasuke said, walking off.

_**'Is she like me?'**_

_**'I don't think so. Last I heard, Shukaku was the bijuu of Suna, and I've never heard of him inhabiting a female.'**_

_**'Oh.'**_

_**'What does it matter to you?'**_

_**'Well if she was like me, then I'd be able to understand the pain she feels.'**_

_**'Stop doing that, kit. You're too soft, worrying about the enemy's mental health. Weakling.'**_ Kyuubi spat. Naruto was silent, but he knew his companion was right. Why even care?

_**'You're right Kyuu. Sorry.'**_ he laughed. The fox sighed before his presence faded.

* * *

"You okay Tem?"

"Don't call me that."

"Fine. You okay, Temari?"

"Why do you care?"

"I'm not having this argument again. You're my sister idiot, simple as that."

"I'm fine, Kankuro. Go away before I kill you." Kankuro smiled at the response, even if he was afraid. There was no way he was leaving now. Besides, he needed to know one thing. Now.

"What happened the day you left?" he whispered. Temari glared at him, murder in her eyes, and Kankuro thought about apologizing and leaving. But Temari turned away from him and shrugged her shoulders.

"I matured."

"That's not the kind of answer I was looking for. I mean why did you leave, who was with you. Those kinds of details."

"That's none of your business." she growled. Kankuro groaned and grabbed her shoulders. Her eyes widened at the sudden action

"What did they do to you? You've gone from laughing, playing with me every day and enjoying life to... nothing. Just a black hole filled with nothing but anger and the urge to kill! Did they torture you, erase your memory, replace you, something? Because there is no way that you are the Temari I knew!" Kankuro screamed. He found himself on his back, looking at the ceiling for a brief second before his view was replaced by the dark green eyes of his sister. The eyes of an assassin. She was absolutely furious and held him to the floor in a bruising grip.

"You are incredibly lucky that this mission requires you, or else I would-"

"What? Kill me? Please, you think that scares me? Try living with Gaara for 12 years, then try again. I've lived with death hanging over my head, so there's no way your threats will do anything but make me laugh!" Kankuro laughed. Temari got up after a moment and watched him get up. Then, without warning, she punched him in the stomach, making him double over. She grabbed his face, forcing him to look at her and enjoyed the fear in his eyes.

"You remember this, brother." she spat the title. "Unlike Gaara, I do not make empty threats. I would not, for a second, hesitate to kill anyone, even you. Got that?" she growled, letting him go and storming out of the room.

"Was that your idea of an attempt to get her to open up to you?"

"Leave me alone sensei."

"Well, take my advice. She's been a ruthless killer for as long as I can remember. Even Gaara is wary of her." Baki said, remembering a mission from a couple of years ago.

* * *

_Gaara had captured their target, a jonin from Iwa, and Temari was about to begin the interrogation. The man of course resisted and refused to answer, but Gaara's sand ensured he wasn't going anywhere. The two siblings were patient enough, but even Baki had his limits. And 6 hours was definitely pushing it._

_"Gaara, just kill him. It's obvious we aren't getting anything from him."_

_"Don't tell me what to do." the boy hissed._

_"As the leader of this cell, I say kill him. Temari, would you tell Gaara-"_

_"Shut it Baki. He just needs, motivation." and Temari pulled out a kunai and traced it along the man's cheeks, drawing blood and making him wince in pain. Then she stabbed his arm and let the knife stay there. He cried out but quickly shut up. "Now, anything you wish to say?" Temari asked, but the man said nothing. She shrugged and pulled out another kunai. "Fine. If you wanted to be a pincushion, you should've just said so." and she stabbed him again, and pulled out another kunai._

_"Temari stop this now!" Baki commanded. She paused and turned toward him._

_"What if I don't want to?" she asked. Baki swallowed his fear and glared at her. She let the kunai fall to the ground and then shrugged._

_"You're weak. Weak." both turned to see Gaara, his sand moving restlessly toward them. "You take orders when you're stronger, Temari? Weak." and the sand inched closer. Temari just looked at Gaara as it did, daring him to touch her. And when the first grain made contact, she lunged. She grabbed his throat and slammed him down._

_"And you dare attack someone stronger than yourself? You must want to die. I'm not above killing you, as you're not above killing me. Call the sand back and never touch me again, unless you want me to crush your damn throat here and now. I don't care if you are my brother, or the kazekage's favorite weapon. I. Will. Kill. You." she snarled, tightening her grip. Gaara's world stopped. Someone stood up to him, and no shred of fear was in them. In fact, fear was in him for the first time in a long time. The sand could not pry her off, so it retreated, in hopes of soothing the savage beast. She got off of him and went back to her spot, and Gaara didn't think to touch her even when he was free. Baki sat there, beyond shocked. Finally, someone could control Gaara. The kazekage would love this news._

_"And Baki, if you tell the kazekage what happened here, I'll kill you. I'm not gonna be his last resort to controlling Gaara." she said, ending the thought._

* * *

"Gaara, wary of someone? You know what happened when Temari disappeared, don't you?"

"I've said too much already. Just know, this will not be an overnight fix, if it can be fixed." Baki said, leaving. Kankuro stared after his sister and gathered his courage and walked after her.

He would not be ignored.

* * *

So, another chapter done! Tell me what you think, constructive criticism is always welcome. Until next time :)


	3. Chapter 3: Encounter!

Hey everyone! I want to thank everyone who reviewed. It makes me feel better about my writing, and it helps me improve it. But anyways, here's another chapter. This kinda focuses on Temari's inner conflicts, so enjoy!

**(A/N: Now, I did mention this in the summary, but if it isn't obvious by now, you should expect to see OOC characters in this story, namely Temari, the Kazekage, and whomever else I want to make OOC. So please, no reviews telling me about the actual personality of the characters. I already know about that, but they're the way they are in my story for a reason. Oh, and I also neglected to mention that Temari will be pretty superpowered in this story, but she is in no way invincible.)**

And we have Temari-chan here with the disclaimer!

Temari: Call me that again and you die. And I don't have inner conflicts.

Me: Sure, and I'm filthy rich. Just do it.

Temari: Rulerofwind does not own Naruto, no matter how much she wishes she did. She has no artistic talent anyways.

Me: I said stick to the script!

Temari: They should know the truth... Now on with the chapter...

* * *

Kankuro stopped in front of Temari's door and heard no sound coming from behind it. But he could feel the killing intent in the air as always, so he knew she was still there. He almost lost his confidence, but he swallowed it back down and raised his hand to knock.

"What are you doing?" Kankuro turned to see his little brother standing right behind him and jumped.

"N-nothing. Just going to talk to Temari."

"Do you wish for death? You want to talk to her after you angered her like that? Idiot." Gaara said with no shred of emotion, making it hard for Kankuro to detect any sincerity.

"What's it to you? Wouldn't you do it as well? I want answers Gaara, don't you?"

"I am... curious. But I've been trained well enough to know whom I should and shouldn't approach."

"Don't tell me you're afraid of her?" Kankuro gasped.

"Of course not. I don't fear anything or anyone. I simply recognize her position as someone more powerful and merciless than even myself, so I give her the space she wants." Gaara explained.

"Stronger than you Gaara? I doubt that."

"She may not be a jinchuuriki like I am, but she obviously possesses an immense amount of power, perhaps even greater than mine. You've experienced that twice. When she came home, and this morning." Gaara said, turning away. "But if you want to die, go ahead. One less person in my way." and Gaara was gone. Kankuro sighed. He knew Gaara was right, he wanted to walk away. But not before saying... something.

"Tem, I'm sorry." he whispered to the door loud enough so he knew she'd hear it, and left.

* * *

Why the hell wouldn't he leave her alone? He was relentless in his efforts to get her to talk to him and they only served to make her want him dead.

'Curse this damn mission.' she needed to get out and clear her head. She could not, would not allow herself to be this worked up over nothing. She slid her window open and jumped out and onto the thinning streets of Konoha. It was just starting to get dark, so she had some time to waste. She decided to direct her frustration into memorizing as many details of the village as possible. There was a ramen stand in the center of the village and she noticed that the orange clad boy was in there, paying for his meal, and she continued walking. Not that she'd ever stop there, or anywhere, to eat. But she obviously wasn't fast enough. She glanced over to see him walking next to her.

"Temari, right?" he asked. She hadn't disclosed her name to any of them, and it put her on guard.

"How do you know my name? I never told any of you." she said, ready to strike. Naruto sensed this and spoke quickly.

"My sensei told me. He of course knows about you, seeing as you're the Kazekage's daughter and all..." Naruto trailed off, seeing that his knowledge seemed to anger her further. "So... are you a jinchuuriki?" he asked. She looked at him for a brief second and turned away.

"You think I'm Shukaku's host? No." she said.

"Well Gaara would be my next guess. But you seem pretty strong too, so who's the strongest out of yo-" Naruto began before he found himself pinned to a wall, a firm hand around his neck.

"You think you can pull information out of me just like that? I have half a mind to kill you right now." she snarled, glaring at the blue, fear filled eyes. Naruto tried to free himself, but his attempts made her squeeze harder. So he remained still, trying to conserve the air he had left. He just knew he was about to die. Suddenly, the grip loosened and Naruto fell to the ground.

"If you ever approach me again, you will not be so lucky." and she disappeared before Naruto could look up. He coughed, rubbing his abused throat and sighed.

_**'Told you.'**_

_**'Shut up. She let go, didn't she?'**_

_**'She still wanted to kill you.'**_

_**'Whatever. The important thing is that she didn't.'**_

_**'Must you tackle every tragic thing that comes your way? Focus, or you won't make it through these exams.'**_

_**'Kyuu, don't worry. There's no way I'm losing!'**_

_**'Loud mouth... Get out of here.'**_ the fox growled, forcing his host out of the mindscape.

* * *

Temari could not believe what had happened. One, she let him walk beside her. Two, she actually felt... somewhat comfortable around him. Well she couldn't help it, the brat radiated sunshine. But thankfully she regained her senses in time. When she made it back to their apartment, she immediately sought out Baki and practically dragged him to their earlier spot. Once she made sure no one was around, she asked him about what happened.

Baki couldn't help but chuckle at Temari. She was being... vulnerable, something he hadn't seen since her training began. But he could see anger in her eyes, so the amusement didn't last long.

"Temari, no matter how much you deny it, you're human. And worse, a human female. You're going through changes. This is just part of growing up. Lots of teenagers get confused around this point in life and start to question everything."

"Me, human? That makes no sense. Humans are capable of a wide range of emotions, I am not. Humans know the meaning of bonds, I do not. I am just an experiment of Suna, a killing machine for the good of the village and the Kazekage." she said with no trace of emotion, only a bit of confusion. The fact she felt like that made Baki inwardly cringe.

_'Man, we screwed up.'_

"Temari, accept it. You're human. Your training did not change that fact, only made you able to hide that fact better than most."

"I may have been born human, but that was stripped from me. It was meant for me to be emotionless, to kill without a single hesitation. Since coming to this village I have experienced confusion and hesitation. Am I a failed project?"

"No, you're not. You're alive, and not a machine. So you are human."

"That's easy for you to say. You don't know what's run through my head all these years." she stated matter-of-factly.

"Baki. Leave." Baki turned to see Gaara standing not too far away from him. He swallowed and hesitated, before leaving.

"Why are you here Gaara?"

"I don't know. Why should I be here? I just am. I just wanted to let you know that you are human. If you can't believe that from me, of all people, then who will you believe? Now get your thoughts straightened out before the exams. It would be horribly ironic if you were the one to hold us back, captain." and Gaara was gone.

'Gaara believes I'm human? Is he right? He can't be... No! I refuse to believe such idiotic ideas. I am Temari, captain of Suna's ANBU, wind mistress of the desert and the Kazekage's weapon.' she closed her inner debate and left to train.

_'Captain? The hell did Gaara mean by that?'_ the puppet master thought, going to find his brother.

* * *

Temari made her way to the training field that was arranged for her and her brothers to use while they stayed. She had to admit, being a child of the Kazekage sure had its perks. She made a shadow clone and they stood there, looking at each other.

"What are my orders?" the clone finally asked.

"Transform." Temari commanded.

_'Great, this training again? When will it end?'_ The clone thought, but she just nodded and stepped back. She performed the handsigns and a cloud of smoke signified the technique's completion. In the clone's place stood a little girl, her hair up into her four soon-to-be trademark pigtails.

"Hey! My name is Temari and I love training. I'll get stronger for my dad and make him proud! I have a little brother, Kankuro, and he's the best brother ever! And mom's even pregnant again, so I'll have another sibling soon." the cheery child chuckled. It took all of Temari's training not to laugh, or destroy everything around her, because of the sight before her. Had she really looked like that? Were her eyes so bright before? Did she really love her father? She took a deep breath and smiled.

"You are the complete opposite of what I am now. You are an embodiment of my weak self, so I must kill you." and without hesitation Temari rushed at her clone, who stood there, ready to take the blow. Temari pulled out her sword and brought it down on the clone, slicing its head off before it vanished in a cloud of smoke. She put the sword up and immediately felt relief in the fact that she felt detached from that girl, less... human.

_'Not enough.'_ she thought, creating another shadow clone.

* * *

"Gaara!" Kankuro yelled, banging on his brother's room. The door flew open seconds later, showing Gaara looking out the window at the village streets.

"What do you want?" he said, turning to his older brother. "It'd better be good, or I'll kill you." he growled, sending sand to pool at his potential target's feet. Kankuro swallowed and faced Gaara, looking him dead in the eyes.

"Why did you call Temari a captain?" he asked. The sand moved wildly, but Gaara called it back to him.

"I suppose you were bound to find out. I will tell you of her past." Gaara... sighed? Kankuro knew he would want to sit down, so he moved to sit on the unused bed.

"Start."

"When Temari was 5, the Kazekage had been trying to train her as a ninja, but she wasn't catching on and showing too many emotions. So he grew tired and sent her with Baki, who was the ANBU captain at the time, to be trained like an ANBU and to become an ANBU. She excelled greatly in a short time, and became the ANBU captain when she was 10. All that time she only had contact with her ANBU forces and the Kazekage. She does not trust anyone, does not know how to trust. She can't react properly in social situations, and it takes a lot from her not to kill us, her own brothers."

"Wait, you're telling me that that man sent our sister to become a weapon? He stripped her of her happiness and childhood so he could have another way to scare other villages?" Gaara nodded and Kankuro stood up.

"Where are you going now?" Gaara asked, but he had a good idea.

"To find our sister. Where is she Gaara?"

"What are you planning?"

"I don't know. I'll wing it." Gaara stared at him for a while before looking back out the window.

"The training grounds."

"Thanks Gaara." and Kankuro was gone.

* * *

Temari stood, surrounded on all sides by 5 year old versions of herself. She had both swords in her hands and charged. One, two, ten, twenty, fifty, she lost count of how many copies of herself she destroyed, but with each one, she felt more and more like the monster she was meant to be, and she cherished the feeling. It helped justify all the things she had done in her young life. All the brutal killing, that is. She rushed toward the last group of clones, ready to kill them all.

"Temari!"

She stopped and turned, seeing Kankuro a few yards away, panting heavily. His eyes were wide, shocked, and she could've sworn there was a hate in there that she hadn't seen before. Was it for her? No, it wasn't. Then who was it for?

"What do you want?"

"Is this the kind of thing you think you have to do? Kill the younger you over and over again until you can convince yourself that that happy little girl never existed? So you can forget what it's like to feel human?"

"The details of my training aren't any of your business."

"Yes. They. Are!" Kankuro seethed. "You are my sister, and I know what happened to you."

"Who told you? Baki? Gaara?"

"Gaara." at that point, the clones took the tension as a sign to leave, so they disappeared.

"That idiot. He was not supposed to tell anyone that information, and you were never supposed to find out. I was sent on the mission so there would be two major weapons on our side: Gaara and I. We are supposed to pretend to get through this exam and attack during the third stage, kill every single man, woman and child, and destroy this damn pla-"

"Shut up!" Kankuro yelled. Temari was mildly shocked for a second, but then extremely so when Kankuro ran toward her. Was he going to attack her? Should she kill him? The Kazekage said not to, but if he was trying to attack a weapon of Suna, she'd surely be justified right? She processed her choices over and over again, but in the end all she could do was stand there as Kankuro flung himself at her and threw his arms around her. She froze at the forgotten gesture, then she remembered what it was.

"... Why?"

"Why am I hugging you? I don't know. For a lot of reasons. I miss you Temari, the real you. I want to see you smile again; I don't want you to kill senselessly anymore. I don't want you to be the ANBU captain; I just want you to be my sister and a normal kunoichi of Suna." Kankuro choked out. Temari could feel her legs getting weak. Never had she been confronted with such emotions before, and she didn't know what to do. She could feel her human side coming back, and she hated it. Oh how she hated it. But she couldn't will her body to move. So she did the only thing her body wanted to do. She sunk down to the ground and sobbed. She cried 10 years worth of pain and solitude into her brother's shirt as he held her and rubbed her hair.

"Mari, don't cry. It's okay." Kankuro whispered.

"I can't do this. I am supposed to be a ruthless killer. I can't be here, crying like this. What the hell is wrong with me?" she cried angrily.

"Nothing is wrong with you. You're human. And if the Kazekage can't accept that, then screw him. I'm gonna protect you okay? I won't let him hurt you anymore." Kankuro whispered. But the very thought of being protected snapped Temari's thoughts back into place. Why did they think she needed it? Was she really that weak? She pushed away from him and stood up. She looked at him as her features steeled again.

"If you ever tell anyone what happened here, I'll kill you." she warned, wiping her eyes, but Kankuro could see the uncertainty in her eyes. She left, leaving Kankuro alone. He smiled a small, sad smile. He'd made progress at least. He never expected a complete 180 in her personality, but he'd get there.

* * *

Temari walked through the empty streets, trying to come up with an explanation as to what just happened. She hadn't cried since that day, so why? Why now? Maybe it's because she had been flung into social situation after social situation. And she's not used to them. Yeah, she convinced herself it was just the stress of all those situations that made her act like that. Somewhat satisfied, she turned a corner to go back to the apartment when she bumped into someone. She stumbled back a few steps, but the person fell to the ground.

"Ow!" he whined. He looked up and saw who he'd bumped into, and the color drained from his face.

"Please don't hurt me! I didn't mean to!"

"Oh, it's you. Naruto, stop panicking. Just consider yourself lucky that I'm not in the mood to see blood." she said, starting to walk past him.

"Wait. You've been crying, your eyes are red." he said, getting up to confirm it. "Are you okay?"

"It's none of your business. Why do you care anyways?"

"I just do. I don't think I need a reason to feel concerned for a fellow human." he shrugged. Her eyes widened the smallest amount, then she turned to leave. "I know how you feel." that got her attention again. She nearly scoffed.

"Do you?"

"You feel alone, like no one cares about your wellbeing. You've probably been this way for a long time, but seeing as you're not a jinchuuriki, you probably had some small part in your life where you were happy. But since becoming like you are, you feel like you have to stay like that, to be the weapon you were created to be, and any reminder of how things used to be is rejected by you, because you fear becoming a failed experiment and being disposed of. Oh yeah, I know that feeling quite well. I'm the nine tails jinchuuriki for crying out loud. People have wanted me dead since I was born. But I gave others a chance, and now look at me. I don't feel lonely. I don't worry about being disposed of. I can be happy without feeling afraid. But it starts with a friend... Will you allow me to be that friend?" he asked.

"You may not worry about being disposed of, but in Suna it's different. Power is everything there. And I am the Kazekage's daughter, and not a jinchuuriki. If I don't have the power he wants me to have, what use am I to him? He could easily dispose of me and train another weapon."

"If he's the kind of man who'd do that to his own daughter, then he doesn't deserve you. He already doesn't deserve to be a parent because of what he let happen to you. But if you let me be there, I'd never let that happen. Kyuubi and I wouldn't let him get near you."

"You're far too trusting Naruto."

"That may be true, but it's one of my many charms. Now, will you let me be your friend?" he asked again. She genuinely thought about it. If she said yes, he'd be her first friend. And she could use him to get information about the village.

"Okay Naruto. I accept." she said, and a ghost of a smile found its way onto her face at the smile he gave her.

_**'Hey kit. Don't be getting too attached. I have a bad feeling.'**_

_**'You always have a bad feeling.'**_

_**'And have I ever been wrong?'**_

_**'Shutup. I can handle it.'**_

_**'I wonder. Can you, kit?'**_

_**'Kyuu, shut up. It can't be healthy to be that pessimistic.'**_

_**'And your optimism is gonna get you kil-'**_ Kyuu started before Naruto shut him off.

"Well, I gotta go. See ya around Temari. Oh, and at the exams."

"You're participating in the exams? With who?"

"Oh, my team of course. That pink haired girl and the one who threw the rock at your teammate." Naruto explained. Temari nearly snickered. This would be too easy. The girl could be dealt with easily, and the boy didn't seem all that powerful. Naruto seemed pretty powerful, but they would all eventually fall.

"I see. I look forward to that then. Goodbye Naruto." and Temari left, ready for the exams. And to meet all of her victims.

* * *

Haha, she's just a rollercoaster of emotions, isn't she? Well, I shall try to update as soon as I can, but it may take awhile as I juggle homework and college processes. Until then, keep on reading and reviewing. I really appreciate those reviews.


	4. Chapter 4: The Exams Begin!

And here's another chapter of Broken Wind. I am pleased with how well this is doing, and I have all of you to thank for that. You all are awesome!

To answer a review from last chapter, out of Naruto, Temari and Gaara, Temari is the strongest, then Naruto and Gaara are a little weaker than her, but they have nearly equal strength.

And to an anonymous review I received last chapter, I don't care that Naruto is annoying. That's the way I want him to be. That's why this is my story.

But anyways, enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 4: The Exams Begin!

Six days passed and the morning of the exams arrived. Temari was already up, looking out of her window at the dark village. It was only 5 am, but she was oddly... excited to be taking part in the exams. Finally, she would be able to cut loose. And after nearly a week of being "friends" with the hyperactive blonde, she needed it. Badly. Her ears picked up the shuffling of feet behind her and she gave her brother a quick glance before returning to her gazing.

"Guess I wasn't the only one who couldn't sleep huh? I'm really nervous about this." Kankuro said, taking a few steps toward her.

"There is nothing to be nervous or worried about. We are perfectly capable of making it to the third stage and carrying out our mission. I won't accept weaknesses. If you have doubts, you shouldn't have agreed to this."

"I am ready. It is normal to be a little nervous. Of course, you and Gaara wouldn't know, would you?" Kankuro snapped. She looked at him, shrugged, and turned back around.

"Is that all you wanted? To come in here and tell me your problems? Surely you didn't expect me to be the big sister and tell you everything is alright. Grow up, Kankuro. We're shinobi, and killing is what we do. We were hired to kill and that's exactly what we're going to do."

"And you're just gonna go along with that? Don't you even have a heart?"

"A heart? Of course you idiot, otherwise I wouldn't be alive. But if you mean the capacity to care, that was stripped from me a long time ago. I was taken and molded into a killing machine, ready to serve Suna and do whatever it is that our Kazekage commands us to do. And until I am deemed unnecessary or am killed in battle, I will continue to do just that." she said. Kankuro didn't know how to respond to that, he didn't even know where to begin, so he left it at that and turned to leave.

'Somewhere, beneath that hatred is the real Temari, and I won't stop until I can revive her.'

A couple of hours later, the sand trio stood in front of Baki, ready to go.

"I have to go and make sure you all are properly registered and I need to check on some things. Can you get to the meeting room and sign in by yourselves?" he asked, but none of his students answered him.

"Gaara can lead us." Temari finally said.

"I know the way there. My sand has explored the entire village. And Temari can sign us in." said boy responded. He and Temari turned to leave, and Kankuro sighed.

"Sensei, if I get killed because of these two, I'm haunting you." and the siblings left.

* * *

Gaara led them down several streets, which were mostly empty. Thankfully, many had heard about the exams beginning today, and were most likely hiding from the foreign ninja that were in their village. But even so, any well trained shinobi could feel the eyes peeking out at them.

"Gaara, you sure you know the way?" Kankuro sighed.

"Shut up. We are almost there." and sure enough, they could see a building not too far away, three man cells proudly striding into it.

"Temari-chan!" Temari heard, and she inwardly cringed. That voice, the only voice so cheerful in the village: Naruto Uzumaki. She turned, a slight upturn of the corner of her mouth perfectly in place, and greeted him.

"Hello Naruto. Are you ready for the exams?" she asked.

"Of course I am! I'm gonna be a chuunin, believe it! And I have Sasuke and Sakura here to back me up!" Temari looked around Naruto to see the pink haired girl covering her ears and the Uchiha looking irritated, and nearly smirked.

"Naruto, I see that you and he are powerful, but that girl? She's weak. And I won't hesitate to kill her." Temari said. Naruto sighed.

"I knew you would say that. But she's my teammate, so I gotta protect her."

"Even if the two of us meet in battle? What would you do if I did kill her?" Temari asked, watching the confusion, pain and anger cross his face before he forced a smile.

"I wouldn't underestimate Sakura-chan so quickly. She is smart and has good chakra control, even if she doesn't know any jut-" Naruto began before being hit in the head and dragged away by a fuming Uchiha. Temari turned back to her brothers, but not before glancing at Sakura, who looked away when their eyes met, and led them inside.

"You idiot! What are you doing, hanging out with her and telling her about us?" Sasuke nearly shouted.

"But Sasuke, she's nice when you get to know her..."

"Nice? She practically threatened Sakura's life!" Sasuke hissed.

"She just has a harder time expressing herself. I doubt she'd do that. She's shown me that she has a good side." Naruto said.

"She is messing with your head. Making you trust her so she can destroy you more easily, getting you to tell her about us so she knows what she's dealing with. It's information gathering 101, Baka." Sasuke growled.

"That's not what she was doing. You know that she could probably kill any of us if she wanted to. Why gather information on us first? Jealous that I'm hanging out with such a beautiful girl, teme?" Naruto snickered, earning himself another hit on the head.

"Don't mess this up for us." Sasuke said, walking away. Naruto blew a raspberry at him and followed.

* * *

"Did you hear that? That pink haired brat doesn't know any jutsu. Why would she even sign up?" Kankuro laughed.

"What does it matter? Either way, they're all gonna die." Gaara said.

"Don't forget our mission."

"Yeah, yeah. Don't worry Tem." Kankuro sighed. Temari suppressed the urge to growl at the nickname, and kept walking. Two chuunin stood, checking another team in. The three got in line behind the foreign team, and tried to listen.

"Names?" one of the chuunin asked. The only female on the team stepped up, her long, black hair snapping with the quick movement.

"We are the team from Otogakure: Kin Tsuchi, Dosu Kinuta and Zaku Abumi." Kin said.

"Hmm... Alright. Go on in." and the other chuunin stepped aside to let them through. They went through without another word and the chuunin barrier was raised again.

"Names?"

Temari stepped up and seemed to size up the chuunin before speaking.

"We are the team from Sunagakure: Subaku no Temari, Subaku no Gaara and Subaku no Kankuro."

"Okay... Oh! You're the Kazekage's children. It's an honor to have you here, Temari-sama, Gaara-sama, Kankuro-sama. Please, go ahead." and the barrier was let down again. Temari walked through, followed closely by Gaara. Kankuro slightly nodded to the two chuunin before hurrying after his siblings, who had disappeared behind the classroom door.

Inside the room were a few genin teams. At least 10 had already gathered, and Gaara could feel his blood flow faster. So many weaklings, so much blood he could give to Mother.

Temari nearly scoffed as she looked at each team. Sure, they looked powerful, but their chakra left much to be desired. Every single one would meet their end if they crossed her path.

When Kankuro entered the room, he glanced over the other teams, and then rejoined his team, who had found a spot a little away from everyone to stand.

"Would you two relax a little? You're both drawing attention, looking all tense and dangerous." Kankuro sighed. And he was right; a few teams were looking their way, almost daring them to say something. Temari scoffed.

"Let them try something. It would be unfortunate for them to die before they got a chance to compete." She said, and the team from Oto heard her.

"Oh? You think you have a chance against us? Don't underestimate us, little girl." Zaku warned. He had dark brown, choppy hair and the way he held his hands, one could clearly see the holes in his palms. He wore a headband with a quarter note on it.

"So you are ninja from Oto? A little nation with nothing but weak shinobi last I heard." Kankuro laughed. Zaku growled and put his hands up, and his teammates looked on. Two great bursts of wind shot out of his hands and barreled toward Kankuro, who attached his chakra strings to his puppets and prepared to defend. Temari stepped up and put an arm out in front of Kankuro.

"I'll handle them." was all she said before feeding her chakra into her hands. Two sections of wind became dense and elongated, so that they looked like two whips, and she swung them at the two blasts. The blasts were completely destroyed, but Temari wasn't done. She then wrapped a "whip" around their assailant and the other around his teammates, bringing them closer.

"Hmm, attacking shinobi without reasonable cause, especially considering who we are. I should kill you." and the whips tightened. "But then I wouldn't be able to hunt you down during the exams and tear you apart limb from limb." Temari dropped Dosu and Kin, then kicked Zaku into the far wall. "It would be best to go before I change my mind." she said, turning away.

Dosu and Kin got up and hesitated before they walked past Team 7 on their way to the other side of the room to retrieve Zaku, and Naruto walked closer to the Suna siblings.

"Temari-chan! I knew you weren't all bad. You showed mercy to those other two, you do have a hear-"

"Are you still on about that?"

"... On about what?"

"Convincing me that I'm good, and being my friend. You are incredibly dense. I would have thought the Uchiha had told you, since he seems so perceptive. I used you for information gathering. Being your friend was just a price to pay to find out what I already knew: I will have no problem completely crushing you and your team in this exam." Temari snarled. Naruto looked taken aback, but then he sadly smiled.

"There's so much hate in you, it's unbearable. But if you think I will believe that you completely hated being my friend, you're wrong. Face it Temari. You want a friend. I don't know what you were taught, but there's nothing wrong with being able to count on someone else." Naruto said. Temari had her head down, and Naruto thought he had affected her. But when she looked at him, her face was devoid of any emotion.

"Are you done yet? You know nothing about me, so say nothing else unless you want to die here and now."

Naruto remained silent, and an uneasy tension fell upon the room. Finally, Sasuke steered him away.

"See? What did I tell you, baka?" Sasuke said, a hint of sympathy in his voice.

* * *

"Hey, I could've taken those guys. Why did you step in?" Kankuro demanded.

"You, as a puppeteer of your level, have limited techniques. As a user of wind chakra, I have many techniques. It is merely common sense for me to reveal one of my techniques than for you to reveal one of yours."

"Um... thanks, I guess." Kankuro said. The room remained in relative silence until a door was slammed open and a tall man wearing a black bandana and trenchcoat stormed in.

"Alright maggots! Playtime's over! Get your asses in this room and take your seats! The first stage of the chuunin exams begins in one minute!" he roared, and all of the teams walked past him and into the next room where rows of desks waited.

Temari took a seat beside a genin from the hidden mist village and he smiled at her and raised an eyebrow. She merely looked at him from her peripheral vision and reached for a kunai. She moved quickly, pointing the knife at his... nether regions, and he froze in terror.

"I will kill you, in the most painful way possible." she said, taking the weapon away. He nodded furiously and turned around in his desk. The jonin "watchers" passed out the exam sheets and all eyes were on the proctor as soon as the last paper had been placed.

"I'm the head of T&I, Ibiki Morino, and I shall be your babysitter for this stage of the exam. That's all I have to say. You have an hour, and when I call time, all pencils better be put down. And we better not catch you cheating, or your entire team will be disqualified. Begin!"

Temari was shocked at how easy the questions were, to her at least. Thankfully the Kazekage thought to have the ANBU teach her what she would ever need to pass the written exam. She worked quickly, finishing the 9 questions in about 20 minutes. Now to wait out the other 40 minutes. Her sensitive ears picked up the faint sound of sand above her and knew Gaara was using his third eye technique. In fact, nearly everyone was cheating, or "gathering information", as they liked to call it. She noticed Naruto was sitting a couple of rows below and could clearly see that there was nothing written on his paper. How did he even become a shinobi? It would take a miracle for him to pass this test. There was a raven haired girl beside him, and Temari could see her inch her paper closer to Naruto. And Naruto began to lean over.

_'That idiot. If he gathers information like that, he will never survive.'_

Then Naruto straightened back up, and shook his head. The girl pulled her paper back and relaxed her shoulders, obviously relieved at not having to risk getting caught.

So for the rest of the exam time, Temari watched, with mild agitation, Naruto leaning over his paper, glaring at the questions as if willing them to divulge their secrets. She couldn't help but wonder what the graduation exam was like here in Konoha. For even one of their shinobi to be this... uninformed, it couldn't have been difficult.

"Alright maggots, pencils down!" Ibiki called. All hands stopped writing and dropped their pencils, and all heads looked up at their proctor. "Now that that's over, it's time for the tenth question. Now this is the most important question of all, and holds the most weight. In fact, if you fail this question, you fail the test. The opposite is also true. But, I am going to give you all a chance to decide whether or not to take the question. If you decline, you and your team will be disqualified, and will have a chance to do it again next year. Maybe there'll be a different proctor, who knows. But if you take it and fail, then you and your team will never have a chance to take this test again. You will forever remain genin. Now, who wants to leave? You have one minute to decide." Ibiki announced, crossing his arms, a smug look on his face. Several teams dropped out, leaving around half of the original amount.

"Pathetic." Temari and Ibiki spat, though neither heard the other. Ibiki looked over the remaining genin and stopped at Naruto's face. He could see the struggle on it, and decided to play with the jinchuuriki.

"Hey kid. You wanna give up too? I can see it; you don't think you can do the last question. And if you fail, you'll never become a chuunin. And you'll let your team down. Think how devastated they'll be if you fail. Do you really want this?" he whispered with the ferocity one would expect from the head of torture and interrogation. Naruto closed his eyes and began to raise his hand. "Something you wanna say?" Ibiki urged, waiting to hear the words 'I resign.' but instead, Naruto slammed his hand down on the desk, looking into the man's eyes with a fire that hadn't been there before.

"Like hell I will! I'm gonna pass this entire exam and become a chuunin!" he shouted.

_'Boisterous fool.'_ Temari thought. Ibiki simply gave an amused smile and went back to his position in front center.

"So everyone here wants to take the question? Good. Then all of you here... pass." Ibiki said. The room fell dead silent, the news sinking into everyone's heads.

"W-we pass?" Sakura finally spoke up.

"Yeah, you heard me right, girl. Those of you still here demonstrated determination and the ability to not back down, even when things seem bleak. That's a valuable trait in a chuunin."

"B-but what about the tenth question?" Sakura asked. Ibiki sighed.

"Don't you get it? The question about staying or leaving was the tenth question." Ibiki explained.

_'She was seriously the brightest female of her class? She's just embarrassing Konoha right now.'_ Ibiki thought. "Now, it's about time for the second exam information to be given out. Where the hell is that woman?" he snarled, but he was caught off guard by a figure crashing through the window and landing perfectly in front of her teammate, who pinched his brow in frustration. She slapped the board and it spun to reveal a name.

"Sup brats, name's Anko Mitarashi. The second exam begins tomorrow, so get some rest and say goodbyes, 'cause you may not come back in one piece. Get out of here." she commanded, and the room cleared out within seconds.

* * *

"Whew, that test was hard!" Kankuro sighed, walking between his siblings.

"It was far too easy. Besides, you used your puppets, so it wasn't that hard. And Gaara looked at my paper, so we should all have answered each question. I'm going to train." she said, leaving before they could protest.

"Don't follow her. Give her some space." Gaara warned, walking on. Kankuro looked at the direction his sister had gone, then sighed and followed Gaara.

* * *

At the training grounds, Temari took a deep breath and summoned a clone.

"Again?" the clone asked. Temari shook her head.

"No. I only require combat this time." she said, taking up a defensive stance.

"Hey, you use clones to train too?" a voice rang from the edge of the clearing, surprising both girls. The clone jumped in front of Temari, swords out in a protective X. "And they have their own personalities as well?" Naruto gaped in awe. Temari placed a hand on her clone's shoulder, who then relaxed and stepped to the side.

"Why are you here?"

"Hmm? I was actually coming to train. I didn't expect to see you here. But... since I'm here, wanna train with me?" Naruto asked. Temari and her clone actually scoffed.

"Why would we want to waste our time with you? You're nothing but a weakling. Heed our warning, brat. We'll kill you." the clone laughed, and she poofed away. Temari glared at Naruto, then walked off.

* * *

Why was that brat trying to get closer to her? She wasn't some project to take on, to try and shape into something good and ideal. There was no way him being there was a coincidence. They left the exam room at the same time. No doubt he saw her walk in the direction of the grounds. He was far too calm about her being there than would be expected. While trying to decipher Naruto's actions, Temari didn't notice someone jump at her, a club in their hand. The club connected with the back of her head, making her stumble forward. She quickly regained her balance and took a second to assess the damage. She could feel warm liquid oozing down her scalp and down her neck, and knew it wasn't good. But she had no time for that. She pulled out a sword, ignoring the lightheadedness she felt and turned around. A bulky figure, wearing a mask, stood there, prepared to strike. He rushed at Temari, club raised above his head, and swung down. Temari rolled out of the way and landed a fist in her assailant's stomach. He doubled over and coughed. But Temari gave him no time to recover. She jumped up and kicked him in the face, sending him into the wall behind him. He crumpled to the ground and she wasted no time in ripping the mask off. He wore a headband, identifying himself as a ninja of Iwa.

'What the hell? An Iwa shinobi? I don't know him.' she thought, before hearing another person lunge for her. Her head took that opportunity to throb painfully, and her hand went to her blood soaked head. She gripped her sword and turned, but the new arrival was no longer coming for her, but lying on the ground. And standing above the man was Naruto. He turned around and looked for more enemies, and relaxed when he sensed no more. Naruto grabbed the man by the shirt and lifted him up so that they were eye to eye.

"Why did you attack her?"

"Heh. The stupid bitch doesn't remember? She killed my brother 5 years ago when he infiltrated her dusty ass village! She will pay, you can bet your ass! Iwa will get even."

"How could you know of that night?" Temari asked, coming closer.

"You're not as good as you think you are. We sent_ two_ shinobi to get those damn scrolls." he laughed, spitting at Temari's feet. Naruto punched him in the face, knocking him out, and dropped him. He looked at Temari and his eyes softened.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked, stepping closer.

"I'm fine. Why are you here?" Temari asked, cradling her increasingly painful wound. Spots began to dance in her vision, but she ignored them

"I followed you to make sure you got home safe. Good thing I did. Who are these idiots, and what's this about you killing someone 5 years ago? Weren't you 10?"

"That's none of your- you followed me? Why did you?" she demanded. Naruto simply shrugged and suddenly shifted his interest to the ground. "Why do you still care, after everything I've said and done to you?" Temari asked, then hissed as a particularly painful wave crashed throughout her head. Naruto's head snapped up and that's when he noticed her hand behind her head.

"Hey, are you hurt? Let me see." Naruto insisted, walking closer. Temari backed up, putting on her most intimidating face, but it had no effect on the concerned blonde. Naruto got behind Temari and gasped.

"You Baka! Why didn't you tell me you were bleeding this bad? We've gotta get you to a hospital!"

"I suggest you watch your tongue before you lose it. I'm fine. I'll just go home."

"Don't argue with me. That needs to be looked at, and now." Naruto growled. Kami, how bad was it? He snatched Temari's free hand and began to lead her down the street.

"I can walk by myself. Let me go before I-"

"Before you what? Collapse from blood loss? Be glad I'm letting you walk. I could carry you instead, your choice. Besides, you'd try to run away if I let go." Naruto said, tightening his grip. He was right. She honestly didn't know if she'd be able to maintain her balance if he let go.

"Why are you so concerned? I don't understand. I treated you like an enemy, so why would you treat me like a friend?"

"Like I said before, you may have said some things, but you didn't mean them. I know the pain and loneliness you feel. You want to have bonds, but you can't trust anyone enough to try. Even if we are from different villages, we are allies, and I can't let my friend suffer like that, can I?" he explained. Temari was too tired to answer, so she merely listened. All she wanted to do was sleep. Her eyes grew heavy at the thought and unconsciousness claimed her. She fell, and Naruto spun around and caught her.

_**'Kyuu, help me out here!'**_

_**'What is it?'**_ the demon yawned, raising his head from his paws.

_**'It's Temari. She collapsed and we're too far from the hospital. Can you heal her?'**_

_**'You're still on that case? Jeez brat, this has got to be unhealthy. But fine. There is a catch.'**_

_**'What is it?'**_

_**'You have to make direct contact with the inside of her body. There are only two ways to do that, and since you don't know each other like that, you have to kiss her.'**_ Kyuubi explained, and he chuckled at Naruto's sharp intake of air.

_**'... Fine. She's unconscious, so she can't kill me.'** _Naruto thought and jumped up onto a rooftop, sitting down with Temari in his lap. He couldn't help but notice how peaceful she looked in her sleep, nothing like the ruthless assassin she had grown into, and he noticed how good she smelled. She smelled like jasmine and vanilla. Weird. He'd have thought she would smell like the desert, or blood. Nothing this feminine. He took a deep breath, to calm his racing heart, then leaned down and kissed her cheek, which happened to be far softer than he'd thought.

"There." he said, but was confused by his companion's roar of laughter.

_**'That's funny kit. But I said inside of her body. You have to kiss her on the lips and stay there until I tell you.'**_

_**'Oh...'**_ Naruto thought, his heart rate increasing exponentially. He leaned down again and slowly placed his lips over Temari's and stayed that way. Immediately, he could feel the fox's chakra leaving his mouth and entering Temari's.

_**'Alright kit. You can stop.'**_ Kyuubi said, but it took Naruto a few seconds before he was able to remove his lips from the soft ones below him. Temari's body glowed with the Kyuubi's chakra, and the blood oozing from her head began to slow. 'It might be best to leave and watch from a distance. She may strike if you're still here when she awakens.'

_**'Yeah, you're right Kyuu.'**_ Naruto took Temari and gently laid her down on the roof. He shrugged out of his jacket and balled it up, placing it under her head, then stood up. He looked at her for a few seconds, and then left. He took watch on a roof about 3 buildings away, but he was hidden well enough so that no one would see him.

* * *

It took 2 hours for her to wake up, and Naruto didn't take his eyes off of her for even a second. She shot up and surveyed her surroundings. When she seemed to realize there was no one there, she touched the back of her hair, which was not bleeding, but still caked with blood. She noticed Naruto's jacket and looked at it for a long time, then picked it up. She carefully folded it and disappeared.

_**'Jeez kit, breathe. Your heart's going crazy. You in love or what?'**_

_**'No, it's just that... I want to help her. I don't know why, but I've found myself unable to help myself when I see her. I want to bring some light back into those eyes. She just seems like the kind of person that should be happy, and I want to help her down that path.'**_ Naruto explained, standing and stretching his limbs, then heading home as well.

**'Yeah, those aren't the characteristics of someone who's smitten.'**

* * *

"Where the hell have you been? And why do you look like that? And where did that jacket come from?" Kankuro yelled the minute she walked in.

"I was training, I left and got ambushed. That Uzumaki kid helped me when I got hit and apparently made sure I was safe. This is his jacket. Wash it." she said, tossing the bloody garment to her brother, who caught it.

"Are you okay? This is a lot of blood." he said, coming to survey the damage.

"Get away. I don't know how, but I'm fine. Now go wash that and don't bother me. Unless you want me to chop your hands off." she growled, though it didn't hold the same malice as expected.

"Where are you going?"

"To take a shower and get this blood out of my hair, if it's any of your business." she said, walking toward the bathroom. The door slammed and locked, and the sound of a chair being pushed against it could be heard.

_'Still so paranoid.'_ Kankuro sighed, going to wash the jacket.

* * *

Temari turned the water on and made sure it was hot, almost scalding, and stripped her clothes off, placing her weapon pouch on the counter and tossing the rest in the hamper. She stepped in and relished at the water hitting her skin. She grabbed her shampoo and immediately started on her hair, massaging the purple, jasmine scented liquid into her scalp. She felt around for a cut, a scar, something. But she felt nothing, and knew that Naruto had something to do with it. He was so insistent on helping her, he had even given her his jacket, knowing she would only soak it with her blood.

'Why?' she asked herself, watching as the purple and red tinted water flowed down the drain. She decided she needed to have another talk with Baki. Ever since that incident with Kankuro, she'd been more confused than ever. She could hardly remember her purpose now. She finished her shower and stepped out, grabbing a towel to dry herself with. She looked in the closet and pulled out a complete change of clothes: a set identical to what she just removed. She dried her hair and decided to leave it down, and left the room after moving the chair.

"You're home." Gaara greeted as she closed the door.

"Obviously. Where is Baki?"

"He's in his room. He still needs to speak with you."

"I know."

Temari made her way down the hall, to the last room and stood in front of the door.

"Come in Temari." Baki called out. She opened the door and walked in, closing it behind her. "Where have you been?"

"Baki, I need to ask you some things." she said, and for a second, Baki could swear he saw something pass in her eyes. His concern for his apprentice soared and he motioned for her to sit down.

"What's bothering you?" he asked gently. She reflexively glared at him before sighing. Temari, sighing? This had to be bad.

"After the first exam, which was a complete waste of my time, I went to train. I ran into that blonde kid, Naruto Uzumaki, and I left shortly after. Then as I was walking back, I was attacked by Iwa ninja. They wanted revenge for my first kill, the ninja from the incident with the scrolls. The thing is, I didn't see the attack coming, and I suffered a blow to the back of my head. Why was I so occupied by my thoughts that I forgot the basics of my training?" she asked, frustrated at herself.

"Everyone has an off day, Temari. Besides, it's normal to be distracted. Especially you, who has been thrown into this new environment, after only being around ANBU for most of your life. You are a teenage girl, this kind of behavior is only expected."

"But what if Kazekage-sama deems me useless and tosses me aside?" and Baki finally recognized the emotion that kept her so motivated.

"That's what you've been afraid of? No Temari, he would never do that. How could he expect one of his own children to remain an emotionless robot, given how stubborn he can be at times?" Baki laughed.

"I don't fear anything. It was simply a concern. But beyond that, Naruto assisted me again and knocked out the second person who tried to attack me. Then he was dragging me to the hospital, and I think I collapsed. I woke up on a rooftop, and my head was fine and laying on his jacket. And when I got here and took a shower, I found no evidence of me ever being attacked. No scar, no scab, nothing." Temari explained.

"Sounds like the nine tails jinchuuriki has a thing for you." Baki laughed again, then paused at Temari's uncertain face. "Don't think too much on it. It'll affect your performance. Get some rest, and we'll see how tomorrow goes, alright?" Temari nodded and stood. She left without a word and Baki relaxed, letting a smile find its way onto his face.

'Progress.' but then the smile faded. 'Why the hell would they wait for so long, then attack Temari here in Konoha, the greatest of the five great nations?' Baki stood, leaving to go find out a few things.

* * *

Yay! Now we're getting somewhere. Aww, our poor Tema's shell is finally starting to crack. Review, and I'll try and have the next chapter out soon.


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